Page 106 of Wolf.e

I take a deep breath and aim through the open door, I exhale just as Gabriel’s eyes meet mine. No one else sees me but him. We anchor each other for a few seconds and he shakes his head no so slightly I would’ve missed it if I blinked. There’s not a chance I’m not going to help him. I keep his gaze, nodding just once and then I aim and pull the trigger. Marco’s body hits the floor with a grunt and a thud before my brain allows me to register that I hit him.

After that, I don’t hesitate, I don’t know if he’s dead but I have to get to Jake before he gets to Gabriel or we’re both done, and I didn’t come all this way to let that happen.

I burst through the door without looking behind me to meet my fate.

Brinley’s eyes meet mine through the window screen and I wonder if I’m already dead. If I’m seeing those beautiful blues, I must be. But something in them isn’t right. If I’m dead, her eyes should be happy, full of the light and fire I crave, not angry and afraid.

It's when she raises the gun that I know I’m alive and there’s a good chance she’s about to get herself killed trying to save me.

I shake my head no as carefully as I can so Jake doesn’t take notice but she nods yes before taking her shot.

Fucking little brat to her core.

I watch in the same sort of slow motion I feel when I’m in combat as the bullet whizzes by me and hits Marco somewhere in the chest. He grunts and whimpers and falls to the ground, dropping the barbed wire behind me. His gun is on the table. I watch as Brinley kicks through the door in her fucking Doc Martens. She’s got her hair in a ponytail and wears black jeans and a black tank top.

I realize this is a life-or-death situation, but fucking Christ, I’ve never been more desperate to fuck her, ever.

“Don’t even think about it or I’ll shoot!” she calls in a shaky voice as Jake spins around and then looks at his gun, also resting on the table beside me.

Mistake number two: Never ever put down your fucking piece.

He sneers at her.

“Lucky fucking shot. You’re about to die, little girl.” Tough words for a guy who moves like a complete fucking pussy behind me, using me as a shield.

He looks down at Marco, and I grin. My little hummingbird hit him square in the chest. He’s gasping and gurgling and bleeding out on the floor. She’s gonna be rewarded for an excellent shot the first chance I get.

“Maybe.” Brinley grips the gun tighter, lifts her chin and actually fucking smiles at him. “Or maybe, I’ve spent the better part of everyday learning exactly how to hit my target, isn’t that right, baby?” she asks me without looking at me, one eyebrow raised.

I’ll admit, I’ve never known what love is, but this is the closest thing I’ve ever felt to it. Brinley looks like my fucking walking wet dream. I’m gutted and broken but I actually feel my cock swelling with just the sight of her.

“True story,” I tell Jake, wearing a mangled grin of my own on my battered face.

“It definitely doesn’t make me a perfect shot, but it might make me good enough to hit you,” she adds sweetly.

“You’re gonna go to jail for murder, you know that, right?” Jake grasps at straws, knowing he’s fucked. “You’re gonna spend the rest of your life in jail for killing two men, for what? A man you just met two months ago?”

Brinley cocks her head to the side and speaks to Jake as if he’s a small child, the polite tone of her life before me, mixed with the wickedness I’ve helped her uncover. What a fucking combo.

“Oh, I don’t think so. I know how good my man here is at hiding bodies, and I’m sure he would do an extra good job of placing you so deep in the dirt no one would fucking find you.”

“Sure would,” I add with a smirk. I could fucking watch her like this all day long.

“Fuck!” he calls out, he’s spiraling.

“This,” I say to him. “This is why you could never be president of this club, and it’s why your dad chose me,” I tell him calmly as Brinley stands firm in front of us. “Because you aren’t good under pressure, and you never, ever fucking think things through.”

I watch her eyes, they nervously move between me and Jake. She’s waiting for her chance, which won’t be easy because Jake is firmly planted behind me.

She knows if she advances, he’ll have an opportunity to get his gun, and she won’t want to shoot him when there’s a chance she could hit me.

“Fuck you both!” Jake pathetically yells as he sucker-punches me in the kidney.

I don’t even make a sound. I can’t even feel the pain. Adrenaline courses through my blood with the need to get free and keep Brinley safe.

“You can’t stand behind me all night,” I coax Jake to move. I’m ready to get this fucking over with.

“The gauze on my arm,” I tell him. “She’s already shot me once. And you see… my girl thinks I’m a little crazy, but I bet she’d do whatever I tell her to in this situation.”